Oct. 17, 2018, 11:32 a.m.

There’s nothing sophisticated or secret about what unbeaten Oaks Christian (8-0) plans to do on Friday night against host Calabasas (7-1).

The Lions saw what Sierra Canyon did to the Coyotes two weeks ago, running the ball at will. And that’s what Oaks Christian will try to do. It’s a dare to the Coyotes to try to stop Michigan-bound running back Zach Charbonnet. Calabasas was able to overcome Sierra Canyon’s running game 42-35.

Calabasas coach Chris Claiborne used to be a pretty good defensive player during his days at USC and in the NFL. But he’s not going to be able to help out his players with a tackle or two. They’re going to have to get better very fast at stopping the run.

Oct. 15, 2018, 5:50 p.m.

When it comes to the Western League football race, you can truly say it’s up for grabs. There’s a four-way tie for first place among Westchester (2-1), Venice (2-1), Palisades (2-1) and Fairfax (2-1) with two games to play.

Blame it on Westchester, which defeated Fairfax 20-14 on Monday at Fairfax in a game that resumed play late in the second quarter following a Friday night lightning storm.

Fairfax trailed 14-0 at the half but began to put the pressure on the Comets in the third quarter. Scott Harris had a one-yard touchdown run. Westchester responded with a one-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jeliun Carter on the first play of the fourth quarter to lead 20-7. Fairfax closed to 20-14 with 5:58 left on a 35-yard touchdown catch by Jesse Ramirez.

Oct. 15, 2018, 10:11 a.m.

All the huffing and puffing and complaining about polls and rankings were really meaningless until now. There are two weeks left in the high school football regular season, and suddenly rankings start becoming important because they are used for seeding purposes in the playoffs.

It’s going to be interesting on Tuesday to see the Division 1 rankings. St. John Bosco is expected to take over the No. 1 spot from Mater Dei after its win over the Monarchs. Corona Centennial could move up to No. 2, with Mater Dei dropping to No. 3. Unbeaten Oaks Christian figures to stay No. 4. Then comes the question whether Mission Viejo, unbeaten on the field, drops after forfeiting four victories for an ineligible player. I say no, but coaches are different than sportswriters, and JSerra is rising.